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The countdown to the Ashes series has well and truly commenced. England and Australia will compete in the five-match Test series beginning next month with the opening Test match set to begin on December 8, 2021. Prior to what is being touted as a huge series, English wicketkeeper batter Jos Buttler has revealed that he really enjoyed seeing Rishabh Pant bat in Australia and will try and bat in a similar manner.
Buttler added that Pant is a completely fearless cricketer and he was impressed with how the Indian stumper switched gears through his innings as India registered a historic series win in Australia in 2020-21. Buttler, who had been in great form in the T20 World Cup 2021, will look forward to carrying the same in the Ashes series.
Enjoyed seeing Pant play in Australia: Buttler
"One player I really enjoyed seeing play Tests in Australia was Rishabh Pant when they won there last winter. I love the way he can change his game between the defensive side and aggressive sides, and be totally fearless. I’ll be trying to take the same sort of fearless attitude I’ve had in the T20 World Cup into my red-ball batting," Buttler wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
"That doesn’t just mean an all-out attack. But it’s taking away the worries about too many things – keep the game very simple and looking to put bat to ball," he added.
Fell short of where we wanted to get to in T20 WC 2021: Buttler
Buttler added that he spent his final few days in the UAE not thinking about cricket. While he admitted that the Three Lions came into the T20 World Cup 2021 as one of the favourites, he said that the team fell short of where they themselves wanted to finish.
"I spent my last few days in Dubai trying not to think about cricket very much – we came here with high hopes and expectations and fell short of where we wanted to get to, so we were quite flat," the 31-year-old wrote.
Notably, England were knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2021 after losing to New Zealand in the semifinal. Australia eventually clinched their maiden T20 World Cup title after defeating New Zealand in the summit clash by 8 wickets.